I wondered last night what kind of a night’s sleep I would have as the temperature had been so hot during the day. But despite the adjacent building works, I had some strategic windows open to cool the house down as this particular house seems to retain the heat in the upper storey. But I had a good night’s sleep following the advice to sleep with a single sheet over one which is one tip for how best to keep cool. I must admit I am not looking forward to the extreme temperatures which are forecast for the next few days ahead and, of course, the weekend always has a different rhythm of life compared with weekdays. I have just read as an item on Sky News a test that had been done on decaffeinated teas and what was interesting was that the Asda product came out with flying colours and way ahead of the rest. The opinion of it was that it was ‘a great builders brew – and one of the few teas we tried that tasted distinctly of… tea. Malty, smooth and a hint of sweetness in the brew. A great, caffeine-free substitute if you don not want to compromise on flavour’ Now I normally use Asda as a kind of pop-in store where I only go into it to buy one or two things that cannot be found elsewhere. Apart from anything else, I have a slight prejudice against very large scale supermarkets where you trudge up and down trying to find the aisle which contains the product in which you are interested – this actually happened to me the other day when my son and I went around a local Morrisons where we treated ourselves to breakfast whilst the car was being serviced. But there are two things for which I scour our local Asda when I have the opportunity. The first is their own brand of powdered potato which is very cheap and often out of stock. I use this not as a potato substitute but as a quick and easy gravy thickening agent where it works incredibly well. Whilst on the subject of culinary ‘cheats’ I also use a few drops of a browning agent, similar to Lea and Perrins, which gives gravy a rich dark colour from its caramel content. The second item that I hunt out in Asda are rolls of little plastic food storage bags as if if I end up with scraps of uneaten or unwanted food, I tend to tie them up inside these little bags before I put them in the kitchen waste bin. As our general purpose bins only get emptied once per fortnight, it is possible for scraps of food to be hanging about for the best part of a fortnight which is not a good thing. Later on in the morning, I have a scheduled visit to the doctors so I might make a flying visit to Asda to buy these recommended teabags and anything else that I might find particularly useful. On a more personal note, it is now practically nine weeks since Meg died and I can scarcely believe how the time has flown. There are still occasions which last for a fleeting fragment of a second when I imagine that Meg is still with me in the room and I have to remind myself that she is well and truly in a better place. Although in the past, I have not had strong opinions of cremation versus burial, the more I think about it the more relieved I am that Meg was actually cremated so I do not have unpleasant thoughts of her body gradually decomposing in a burial ground.
Yesterday morning was quite full and eventful. I went down into car by car and parked at Waitrose where I picked up my newspaper and availed myself of the free coffee made available to cardholders. I was then recognised by one of the ladies who called around to our house shortly after Meg had died to pick up a bag full of medical supplies to be shipped off to the Ukraine. So, we had a very pleasant chat and then I departed to do my Asda shopping. I managed to park for free in a road at the back of Asda and then went on the hunt for various supplies. The decaff tea for which I was particularly looking was sold out, no doubt after the article praising it as a best buy. But I did buy some Redbush (Rooibos) tea and I must say that I am rather enjoying it and may drink it quite regularly from now on. It is caffeine free and rich in polyphenols and may even assist in keeping cholesterol within approved limits. I also bought some tins of fruit, some powdered potato and some of the plastic bags which I use a great deal. On my way round the supermarket, I bumped into a near neighbour and we had a good chat about Meg’s funeral and then another couple that we used to Skype regularly in COVID times. Now I was ready for my routine medical appointment and I had the circulation and pulse measured in my feet (they were fine), gave a blood sample and had my blood pressure taken (which was elevated but not alarmingly so and better than some readings over the past year or so) So then I came home and chatted with my next door neighbour about the nuisance caused by the building work going on all around us. Having put the shopping away my thoughts turned to lunch and as I have salads for days and days decided to cook myself a normal Friday risotto. This I must say I really enjoyed and saved a half of it for another day which will probably be next Friday. Then this evening I shall enjoy watching the résumé of the cricket and the Italy vs. Spain match in the women’s Euro competition. For a reason best known to them, the building work went strangely silent at about 1.00pm and I wondered if they finishing work on a Friday, being sent home because the temperatures exceeded 30° or a combination of the two. But a bit of respite from the incessant noise is only to be welcomed.